Overview: Glimmerdale Forest, also known as Goria, is an ancient woodland located upon Lucumbro's southern borders. Covering 2500 square miles, it is a vast yet treacherous woodland inhabited by many different species, both great and small. Though many explorers and adventurers still wonder at its great size, and though many have lost themselves in its countless tracks and crevices, it is only a mere shadow of its former glory. Indeed, some historians believe that Lucumbro itself was once apart of Glimmerdale in ages past.
Glimmerdale, or Goria, is ruled over by the joint stewardship of two ancient and equally mighty races. There are the Gora, or Gorillafolk in the common tongue; large, hulking beasts with black fur and incredible strength, who look akin to Man with a few evolutionary steps removed. The Gora rule in the north, and are charged with the ancient forest's protection from outsiders.
Then, to the south, there are the Lor'Terien, a tribe of Woodelves. The Gora predate the Lor'Terien by thousands of years, and it is commonly believed that the wood Elf presence initially began as an invasion, but petered out into a stalemate, and later, an alliance of mutual gain between Gora and Elf.
For the past ten thousand years, the Gora and the Lor'Terien have hidden themselves from the world. Though outsiders are aware of their presence, few enter the ancient forest Kingdoms. It is a dangerous place to dwell, even for a Gora or a Wood Elf, let alone for someone who is unfamiliar with the hostile fauna and flora. Glimmerdale also boasts few natural resources (aside from wood), making her an unattractive conquest for foreign warlords, however the world's collective yearn for lumber has seen the forest shrink significantly over the course of the last few centuries.
As things stand in the present day, both the Gora and the Lor'Terien are in decline. The Gorillafolk suffered a terrible plague over two hundred years ago, brought to them by means unseen, and it decimated their population. They never quite recovered, and now dozens of Gora settlements sit idle and uninhabited; monuments they stand, as testimony to this once great race. However, under the dense canopies of their homeland, the Gora have always retained a position of strength and have never suffered the arrogance of foreign incursions - until now.
The Lor'Terien however, owe their decline only to themselves. Whilst the Gora stand united under one leader, a King, the Woodelves are divided by several clans and bloodlines and have seen a near-constant civil war shrivel their numbers over the course of the past few centuries. No faction has even been strong enough to dominate the others, and even as Glimmerdale faces obliteration, the Lor'Terien still refuse to unite in the face of mortal peril. It is a problem - and a tragedy - that has plagued the minds of Gora Kings for generations.
That said, the Lor'Terien civil wars and internal strife have never directly affected the Gora, and a Wood Elf, regardless of his or her bloodline or clan, would never intentionally threaten or harm a Gora. Meanwhile, keen to keep themselves safe from their volatile allies, the Gora would never intentionally intervene in the political or military affairs of the Lor'Terien.
